The millions of species of nonhuman animals do not exist to provide you with food that you do not need and is not natural. You do not have the anatomy of a carnivore, even Plutarch recognised this obvious fact some 2,000 years ago when he said:

…it is absurd for them to say that the practise of flesh-eating is based on nature. For that man is not naturally carnivorous is, in the first place, obvious from the structure of his body. A mans frame is in no way similar to those creatures who were made for flesh-eating; he has no hooked beak or sharp nails or jagged teeth, no strong stomach or warmth of vital fluids able to digest and assimilate a heavy diet of flesh. It is from the very fact, the evenness of our teeth, the smallness of our mouths, the softness of our tongues, our possession of vital fluids too inert to digest meat that nature disavows our eating of flesh. If you declare that you are naturally designed for such a diet, than first kill for yourself what you want to eat. Do, it however, only through your own resources, unaided by cleaver or cudgel of any kind or axe. Rather, just as wolves and bears and lions themselves slay what they eat, so you are to fell an ox with your fangs or a boar with your jaws, or tear a lamb or hare in bits. Fall upon it and eat it still living, as animals do. But if you wait for what you eat to be dead, if you have qualms about enjoying the flesh while life is still present, why do you continue, contrary to nature, to eat what possesses life? Even when it is lifeless and dead, however, no one eats the flesh just as it is; men boil it and roast it, altering it by fire and drugs, recasting and diverting and smothering with countless condiments the taste of gore so that the palate may be deceived and accept what is foreign to it.

If you eat meat consider the points that Plutarch made centuries ago, ask yourself what other animal cooks its food to make it edible, the fact that you need to cook meat is an indication that this food is not natural for humans.

Animals have their own lives, their own natures and purposes. A rabbit, a mink or a fox, to name just a few of the unfortunate creatures to be killed to provide some humans with a fur coat, are not on this earth for that purpose. The fur of these animals belongs to the creature who was born with it. Way back in time the killing of animals for meat or fur was the only option available, but now no human on earth needs meat or fur or the wool of sheep. Yet the fur trade thrives throughout the world with millions of animals killed for their fur to satisfy human greed and fickle fashion.

“In order to ensure that every person on the planet has enough food to eat, and ultimately protect our own survival, humans must look deep within themselves and choose the path that is the most compassionate, healthy, and sustainable. That path is veganism.”http://gentleworld.org/could-veganism-end-world-hunger/

Meat is also a detriment to our environment, for example 51 percent or more of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture, eating meat causes pollution and uses up huge amounts of water to name just a few of the problems to our environment we ignore in order for wealthy people in western countries to eat meat.

“Over 56 billion farmed animals are killed every year by humans. These shocking figures do not even include fish and other sea creatures whose deaths are so great they are only measured in tonnes.”http://www.animalequality.net/food

Over one billion animals are killed in the UK alone each year and there are 278 slaughter houses:

Indeed it breaks your heart that those affectionate calves will soon be killed in order for you who eat meat, to consume a food that you do not need and is now merely a luxury, which not only causes the harm mentioned above but is for you the meat-eater a serious detriment to your health and well being.

Whether it’s circuses, zoos, horse or dog racing oreven here in the UK the bizarre but ever more popular sheep racing, hunting, shooting, fishing, the use of animals for entertainment is wrong. As Rodger Moore quoted above says there are now “boundless opportunities for amusement“, circuses and other animal entertainment including the obviously sickening pastime of blood sports are now anachronisms of a bygone age and are barbaric abuses of sentient beings, animals who have as much right to live their lives as they so please, as nature intended not as an adjunct to human activity.

Below is a petition which shows that even sheep cannot escape being used and abused in so called entertainment;

Nothing shames the human species as its use of helpless animals for experimentation. There is no excuse for this cruelty, no justification, whether it is testing a defenceless rabbit, guinea pig, or rat for cosmetic or medical purposes for which in addition to the aforementioned animals primates may be used, also dogs and cats in medical testing. Life is precious to any animal as your life is to you, what right have any human to assert that their life is more important than that of another animal.

Right now, millions of mice, rats, rabbits, primates, cats, dogs, and other animals are locked inside barren cages in laboratories across the country. They languish in pain, ache with loneliness, and long to be free.

Instead, all they can do is sit and wait in fear of the next terrifying and painful procedure that will be performed on them. The complete lack of environmental enrichment and the stress of their living situation cause some animals to develop neurotic types of behavior such as incessantly spinning in circles, rocking back and forth, pulling out their own fur, and even biting themselves. After enduring a life of pain, loneliness, and terror, almost all of them will be killed.

Read the truth about the hideously cruel experiments inflicted on helpless animals and why they are unnecessary.

My own opinion is simple, there is no excuse ever and no reason that can ever justify such cruelty because animals have as much right to their lives as we do , and moreover to live their lives without the negative interference of humans, if is after all their world also .

This link has a wealth of quotations regarding the ethics of animal experiments such as the following, which in my opinion is one of the main reasons that still today animals suffer the agonies of experimentation.

“Results from animal tests are not transferable between species, and therefore cannot guarantee product safety for humans…

In reality these tests do not provide protection for consumers from unsafe products, but rather they are used to protect corporations from legal liability.”

In the modern age there are few tasks now that need the labour of an animal, yet still animals are used in warfare, the enforcement of law, to provide transport, carry goods and so on. Such labour may cause exhaustion, often physical pain, for example if animals are used to carry heavy loads, which is still the case in many parts of the world today. Animals may often be made to comply by the use of whips and other violent forms of coercion. Animals used by law enforcement or the military are exposed to danger and death, remember unlike policemen or women or a soldier the animal has no choice. Not only is this physically exhausting and stressful but at the end of the animal’s useful life he or she is more than likely to be killed if they have not already died of exhaustion.

For detailed information concerning the many uses and abuses of animals used for labour the following article is recommend

You can also read here in this blog about the plight of animals used in warfare:

How War Affects Animals

During WW1 eight million working horses lost their lives, along with countless donkeys and mules. Also one million dogs and pigeons and other birds whose numbers are not known. During this war 16 million innocent animals with no say in or understanding of the matter were forced into war. During the the battle of Verdun in 1916 7,000 horses died in one day alone.

Animals used as Pets may well come under the category of animals used as entertainment but it a bit more complex and less clear cut than that as often these animals provide companionship. Regarding the word pet I prefer the term companion animal, but for ease of writing I will use the word pet which is often an endearment also used to imply fondness of our fellow humans, so for some of us it does not have the same negative connotations.

In a perfect world no animal should be kept as a pet, and I wish this situation did not exist, but this is by no means an ideal world and the domestication of dogs and cats and other animals has progressed beyond the point of turning back. The opposition by many animal rights advocates including myself towards keeping a companion animal should not be considered as a call to release domesticated animals. Domesticated animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits and so on are now dependent on us for their survival, it would not be in the best interests of these animals to release them into the wild or let them lose in our streets where in both cases they would starve to death or come to other harm.

Moreover no advocate of animal rights wishes to remove companion animals from their homes. However we have a moral duty to take responsible care of the animals that we take into our homes and you will find that many animal rights activists and supporters have companion animals or take into their homes rescued animals in need of care. The stance by many animal rights activists is that companion animals who are already here should live long, healthy lives, in as natural a way as is possible, cared for with love and respect by the humans who take them into their homes as their guardians rather than their owners. I would personally like to see the phasing out of confined animals as pets such as rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, rats, fish, reptiles and end deliberate breeding of such creatures as companion animals. These creatures still exist in the wild where they should remain to live the lives that nature intends.

Having a pet or pets is a difficult subject and there are many conflicting opinions. I had three pet rabbits whom a miss very much. However all three came from rescue situations and needed homes. Whatever you decide regarding caring for a pet please adopt one from an animal rescue, if you live in the UK you can also go to the RSPCA who have many unwanted animals for adoption.

Please do not buy from a pet store and most certainly not backstreet breeders as this perpetuates the trade in and breeding of animals.

Please do not adopt an animal you cannot adequately care for or can afford, keep in mind vets fees can be considerable but a vital part of an animal’s well being and here in the UK a legal requirement. More advice is available in the above link.

There are just so many ways that animals are used by humans, some less of a problem than others but I firmly believe that in general animals are better off in their own environments to live their own lives as nature intended and are most certainly not here to feed you, clothe you, entertain you or keep you company, unless they so desire, or for use as labour. Life is as important to an animal as our lives are to us , it is their world to and each and every creature has a right to be here regardless of how useful or otherwise they are to humans.

Below is a guest post by the animal and human rights activist and supporter of free software Luis Leonel.

DO ANIMALS DIE DIFFERENTLY IN ORGANIC SLAUGHTERHOUSES?

The images filmed underground at the certified organic slaughterhouse of the commune Vigan in the Gard department in southern France, show the extreme violence in that animals are killed in the same way as in any standard abattoir.

For Nili Hadida, singer of the group Lilly Wood and the Prick who presents the video, “even in a slaughterhouse turned to organic, animals die in suffering. The happy meat does not exist.”

There are very few instances of suffering that can be compared with that which one of these innocent and defenseless animals suffer before dying in this and any slaughterhouse in order to satisfy the consumption of animal flesh by humans.

Warning: Graphic and extremely upsetting images

Please sign the petition – Written in French please use Google or other translator.

“As we leave the confines of my language and culture these graceful creatures become in every way my superiors. More alert sensitive and aware they are vastly more conscious than I. They are in many ways simply more intelligent. There is an intricate attitude, a clear distillation of purpose and design that is beyond my ability to comprehend”Jo Hutto referring to Turkeys who lived amongst for one year in the forests of Florida.

“Each time I joined him he greeted me with his happy dance, a brief joyful display of ducking and dodging, with wings outstretched and a frisky shake of the head like a dog with water in his ears. Occasionally he would jump at me and touch me lightly with his feet. His anticipation and enthusiasm made it difficult for me to refuse him.Jo Hutto describing his friendship with one particular turkey, quoted in The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

The following video is a commercial but nevertheless makes a powerful statement. Please watch, you will not be disappointed, and hopefully if you’re a meat eater and consume turkey or other poultry or indeed any meat at Christmastime you may reconsider.

Terry the Turkey ad is further proof that kindness sells.

“If you’re anything like us … you’re probably wondering where you can find a turkey like Terry to cuddle right now! These misunderstood animals are actually very affectionate and chances are they’d love nothing more than a cuddle with their human friends (just ask Lydia … the famous ‘hugging turkey’.)”

Were you moved by the heart-warming tale of Terry the turkey in the recent Vodafone Christmas ad? Why not be like the family in the advert and save a life this year – opt for a delicious nut roast instead! Viva! has lots of great recipes for a perfectly kind celebration:
Read More:www.viva.org.uk/christmas – includes alternative vegan meat free recipies

Please watch the following video from Vegetarians International Voice for Animals VIVA which shows the suffering behind the traditional Christmas dinner.

If you believed the TV adverts, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Bernard Matthews turkeys enjoyed Christmas like the rest of us. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

In the early 2000s, Viva! filmed undercover three years in a row at Bernard Matthews sites. This year we returned to see if anything had changed. It hasn’t, turkeys are still crammed into massive industrial sheds and are sent to slaughter at a fraction of their natural lifespan.

Pledge to go vegan or at least vegetarian over Christmas and have a kinder Christmas

Be sure to scroll down and watch the videos including the one about Paul the Turkey. A disturbing video.

“Wondering how a turkey is feeling? You might be able to tell from the colour of his head and throat — they change according to mood! Turkeys also form strong social bonds, sometimes travelling in the wild with groups of 200 or more. A wild turkey’s home territory often exceeds 1,000 acres, and they can fly at up to 89 km per hour. Sadly, turkeys in factory farms are confined to sheds, and are bred for such enormous ‘breast’ growth that they can’t even mate naturally.”

Read more and watch the videos – Turkey, pigs, cows, fish- and please pledge to stop eating meat not only at Christmas but all year.

Why sheep are not included I don’t know maybe sheep are not eaten at Christmas time as much as the animals mentioned above.Sheep suffer as do all animals and Animals Australia has launched many campaigns to stop cruelty to sheep:http://www.animalsaustralia.org/

The following video will make you see turkeys in a new light as intelligent sentient creatures capable of affection, self aware, curious and fun loving.

You Haven’t Lived Until You’ve Hugged a Turkey

“Published on Nov 17, 2012

Turkeys: Who are they?

“This movie captures marvellously one of our culture’s most misunderstood species. It will change forever how you perceive these gentle, intelligent birds.”

Dr Jonathan Balcombe

“This movie opens our hearts to the presence of these birds as the subjects of their lives. In a meditative way, it allows our preconceptions to melt away as we feel the reality of their beauty, curiosity, intelligence, and unique personalities. A must-see antidote to our culture’s disharmony and diseases.”